


What's Your Age?

by princeofdont



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Age Difference, Awkward Crush, M/M, Mad Burnish (Promare), One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:34:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23850889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princeofdont/pseuds/princeofdont
Summary: So many little things Galo knew, thought about day in and day out, and yet there were still things he didn’t know after so many months of them living together.His birthday.Along with that, his age.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 2
Kudos: 83





	What's Your Age?

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to try and express my thoughts about how the promare worked on the human body! So this is my little take on it. Basically the promare stunted the growth of a person, and physically their body stayed the same while their mind aged. Once the promare left, those burnish basically start from where they stopped!

Galo knew a lot about Lio. It was something he prided himself in, even if he couldn’t put a finger on why, he just did, and that was okay with him. He knew his favorite color (it was blue, but whenever Galo pointed out how his hair was Lio’s favorite color, he got angry and stormed out), knew that he had a secret sweet tooth, that he was deathly afraid of thunder (he didn’t think he was scared of anything). So many little things Galo knew, thought about day in and day out, and yet there were still things he didn’t know after so many months of them living together.

His birthday.

Along with that, his age.

Now, Lio didn’t look old, but that was the issue. Galo pushed twenty six, not even reaching his prime, and yet Lio looked years younger than he did, but still. Lio was older. He didn’t tell him that himself, but the reasoning was with how he held himself. Like himself, Aina, Remi, and Varys all were close in age, but when Lio spoke, it was as if he were talking to children. When Remi tried contradicting him, there was a slight twitch in his eye, and he smiled ever so slightly. But with Ignis it was different. With Ignis he listened, as if he were his superior- no, his equal.

“Fire bug!” Galo cried, door swinging open to the small apartment. He’d just gotten off of work, and he was more than excited to bother the other who lived with him.

There was a groan from the other room- the bedroom, they had to share since only Galo had lived there. Another thing he found out; Lio liked cuddling. Lio liked being held, what he didn’t like was Galo knowing he was crying. It didn’t happen as often, but when he had questioned the blonde for the first time, he had locked himself up in the bathroom for hours.

He didn’t want Lio to go through that pain ever again.

“Don’t groan, I know you missed me! What with being home all day,” the way he laughed shook his chest, loud and boisterous and full of warmth that Lio wanted to steal.

“I’m home all day because of you, you know,” the boy huffed, nose scrunched as he looked up from the phone in his hands (Galo had bought it for him for christmas, he still couldn’t use it well) and shifted for the other to join him in the bed. It was a bit small, but comfortable, large enough for them to have their respective space but small enough that it didn’t feel like they were drifting apart.

“Don’t pout at me. I told you, Ignis just wants to wait another month or so before you start working for burning rescue!” There was obvious excitement in Galo’s voice, extending to the jittering in his arms as he tossed away his pants before flopping beside Lio, “It’s not good for you yet. I see how you look at fire, you get this look in your eye’s that scream ‘maybe it won’t hurt me’ and what if you jump into it!”

A gentle smile danced on Lio’s face before his expression turned to exasperation, pushed at the other’s face as he turned to his side and pulled up the cover’s. “I am ready, and I’m not an idiot Galo. Didn’t you throw yourself into my fire the first time we met?” he asked, rolled his eyes as a heart groan met his ears.

“That’s besides the point! I was covered in super cool super cold heat resistant goo, and that was a few days before we met, actually.” he hummed, as if he proved a point.

Lio paused, furrowed his eyebrows slightly before shaking his head.

“A day, few days, it’s all the same to me really, there’s no point in remembering idiotic things like that.” he huffed, sighed as the phone was gently pushed away from his hands and his hair was played with, eased into the bed. It was routine almost; Galo gets home, slight bickering, and then Lio was put to ease with gentle hands. There was an intimacy to it that terrified him to grasp onto, so he tried ignoring it for the most part during the day when he was left alone, but whenever the clock struck nine there was a small of him that hoped. Don’t forget.

“Of course remembering is important! The day I met you I totally kicked your ass!” Galo laughed, ugly and loud and it made Lio’s heart clench in an unfamiliar way.

“You mean I let you,” the blonde corrected, smiled wider as the smooth space behind his ear was rubbed, “I let you win, it was part of my plan. I was the leader of Mad Burnish for years, Galo, though you’re aggressive I would’ve never lost so pitifully.”

It was a distant memory now, of the family he and others made. They had each other, they never needed anyone else because the world wanted nothing to do with them other than to burn them out. There was a hollow feeling that was creeping up in his chest, where the flame used to be, but before pain could settle there were arms wrapping around a small body and squeezing tight enough that the space was gone. 

For now.

“Yeah yeah tomato tomato, I was still the one to take down the big bad leader!” Galo mused, smiled with all teeth as he gave Lio another squeeze.

There was a calm silence that settled between them, the smaller boy’s phone back in his hands to watch a video, the other peeking over his shoulder with a pleased hum. He’d gotten better at reading him, when he needed a gentle hand or something to ground him until he could breathe again, but still. Galo didn’t want to let go, not yet.

Lio fit so perfectly in his arms, like he was made for him. His heart sped up, a fire starting in his chest that heated up his face uncomfortably, but that was okay, because occasionally when Lio got too cold, too lonely, he’d press a bit closer against him and whisper how warm he felt. 

“It was cold today.” Said boy muttered.

Galo knew what that meant, ‘I missed you today’, and it was okay if he couldn’t say how he meant it, because Galo knew. Being honest and ‘selfish’, as Lio called it, was still new to him. It was a constant give, never take. He’d let him take all he wanted if it meant he’d be happy.

“I have a question, and it’s actually important this time.” Galo spoke, shifted slightly to sit up and pull an arm away from Lio, the other still wrapped securely around him.

“Okay, go for it.”

“How old are you?” A slight jerk from Lio, “I mean talking about when we first met, I remember when Ignis said that you were the Mad Burnish boss, right? But he said for over thirty years. Thirty years! But that’s not right, because you look so young and pretty, so it must be your armor right? Is it an influence from an old leader or-”

“Forty five.”

That got Galo to stop talking, stared at the wall with wide eyes and a frigid body, then moved all together to turn Lio and stare at him as he held his shoulders.

“Forty five!? How! Stop pulling my leg flame princess this is a serious question!

“And that’s a serious answer! Your breath smells like pizza go away!”

“Wrong! I didn’t even eat pizza today! I had a yummy caesar salad because it reminded me of you!” he shouted, blew in Lio’s face till the other was laughing in frustration, struggling to get away before Galo pinned him and puffed up his chest with triumph.

“I won! Now start talking,”

“You’re so difficult!” It was Lio’s turn to shout, pouted and looked off to the side with a grumble. He was much to tired for this, and months of doing nothing made him feel weak.

Lio Fotia was not weak.

“I’ve explained this, the promare stunted the body’s growth. While we still age, our body’s are- were put in a limbo. We don’t die from old age because of regeneration, we died when we were ready to die,” he paused, sighed at the lost expression on Galo’s face, “to put it simply, the promare froze our physical state when we first burned.”

“That’s insane, but you look so young! You look like you’re barely seventeen!”

“..fifteen, thank you-”

“FIFTEEN!?”

“Galo calm down- please!”

“Lio! You’re stuck in a fifteen year old body! Have you even grown down there?”

“That’s it!” The blonde shoved hard at the other’s chest, listened to him laugh much too loud for being so close together, frowned as his cheeks turned red and he pressed his hands over his mouth, sighed as he finally grew quiet.

“You don’t tell anyone, okay? I have my reasons..please, Galo?” There was a whine of desperation in his voice, and it made Galo feel more inclined to protect him, threw his arms around him and held him close with a finalized nod of his head.

“I promise, Lio. I’d never tell a single soul. For as long as I breathe I won’t.” he said, went back to idly stroking Lio’s hair till he felt him fall slack in his arms and nod his head.

Since he first saw him, he felt as if Lio was a kid who had to grow up too fast, just like him. He knew the hurt of losing something so precious, maybe not in the same way, but Galo knew hurt, and he didn’t want him to experience it ever again.

Not if he could help it.


End file.
